Chapter 37 - Out of the Dungeons (CitC)
Although the Toads and Beans who had fled the Entrance Hall were likely getting reinforcements to take on the three battlers now soldiering their way down the basement stairs, Tubba wasn't too concerned. They would be able to get to the dungeons before the enemies could even attempt to muster up a resistance. The dungeons were several floors below the basement and the libraries, all of which were carved out of the bedrock. Tubba's father had no need for the dungeons and outlawed Tubba and Chubba visiting the dungeons, but the Mushroom-Beans had opened them up once again, to hold the Clubban prisoners. There were floors and floors of dungeons below, more than enough to hold the Clubban army which totalled over ten thousand soldiers. However, since many would've likely defected and been sent to other Mushroom-Bean outposts or held as prisoners as war, and those who hadn't would be tortured mercilessly until they did defect, Tubba would consider it a surprise if he found even five hundred willing Clubbas. But before they went to the dungeons, Tubba had a brief errand to run in the basement. A few doors beyond where the stairs to the dungeon were was the Kings' weapons storage. All the ancient weapons of the old Clubba Kings were stored there, including one club that Tubba had a particular history with. His grandfather, Karubba's club. It was with that club that he had wreaked havoc ten years ago. It was with that club that he had fought countless people and developed the kill move which had not failed once. The Killer Clubber, named by his old friend Mud. While Tubba hadn't used the Killer Clubber in a decade, he had a feeling it could come in handy in the dungeons. Karubba's club was a heavy club, one of the bulkiest, designed for massive damage and less-than-optimal transportation except by the burliest Clubbas. Tubba was by no means burly, but he had handled the club as a scrawny fourteen year old, and while he was still scrawny by Clubba standards, the extra ten years would mean that the club would be right at home in his red hands. It took him hardly two minutes to leave Parin and Aaron waiting impatiently at the stairs to the dungeons, push past the old wooden door, and examine the room and the new pedestals holding weapons installed over the past ten years, including those of his father, Tubba Sr., his brother, Chubba, and his cousin, Mycerinus. Chubba's exhibit held no weapons, and neither did Mycerinus', although Tubba suspected that was because Mycerinus' were still in transfer. But no other dusty relics drew his attention, except the club accumulating ten year old dust in the shadowy corner. He had last wielded this club against an Iglator King, Hareth, fighting side by side with his younger brother. Feeling the club in the dim light of the weapons storage, he felt a new power pound into his limbs. He was a Clubba. He was born to wield a club. When he rejoined Parin and Aaron a few seconds later, he brushed off questions about the club. Karubba's club was one of the only two clubs he had wielded as an extension of the arm, as all natural Clubba clubs did. Some said it was a matter of training, but Tubba felt that there was only a few clubs in the world that could fit a Clubba's specific needs. In the journey down the basement and into the dungeons, the battlers met no one. The Toads had seen no need to guard the Clubban prisoners, for many had already given up and defected, and those who had not were in no condition to escape on their own. That much was obvious. Tubba was positively furious when they reached the dungeons, a completely new area of the castle to him. The entire area was lit with greenish artifical light, but it did not hide what lay beyond the tall, reinforced bars that separated those coming from the basement stairs to those trapped inside the cages. Emaciated, thin, Clubba shapes, with bones showing and gashes all over their body, many too weak to stand. They were pushed up against the bars, crammed into the cages. This was especially infuriating, since rows and rows of unused dungeons lay beyond them. With a hefty swipe of his fist, Tubba broke the lock on the first dungeon's door, which all the Clubbas had been unable to reach. The Clubbas inside barely moved. "We need to get them out of here." Tubba ordered Aaron and Parin, both of whom seemed distressed by the amount of pain and suffering they were seeing. Hardly any Clubbas had noticed Tubba, and those who had merely looked at him with dull, cold eyes, as if they didn't believe they were being rescued. Heart sinking, Tubba realized that hardly any Clubbas were fit to fight. "We can help with that." Tubba turned as a wizened voice spoke at the entrance to the basement. Standing atop the stairs, fit and well fed, was none other than Clubbar, all his weaknesses purged as he stood framed in the doorway. Before Tubba could even begin to express his bewilderment, Clubbar raced down the stairs with countless Clubbas in his wake. As the Clubbas swarmed the various cells, breaking the locks, assisting the Clubbas who could not stand by themselves, a steady stream of prisoners were making their way out the basement door. "Clubbar... how?" Tubba asked, standing aside from the working Clubbas who attempted to free their brethren. Clubbar had peeled off and was now making his way to Tubba. Although he wore a solemn expression when he approached Tubba, the graying Clubba's face split into a smile as he began his story: "After you left for Forever Forest weeks ago, I eventually beat Laff. Although he was strong and I'm nowhere near as strong as I was, I wasn't going to lose to some whippersnapper. However, we lost the fight against the Mushroom Kingdom and had no choice but to surrender." "Then why are you here now?" Parin asked roughly, and Tubba winced. While it was a perfectly legitimate question, Clubbar had grown up in a different time and was sure to see that question as insolence. The elderly Clubba was very good at controlling his temper, but Tubba didn't want to push his buttons. "Well, as I was going to say," Clubbar started, a hint of irritation in his voice, "many fit Clubbas like myself and Mazette surrendered immediately. Only those proud ones - the ones you see before you - stayed incarcerated over the various weeks. We were beginning a dissolution into the Mushroom Kingdom as a sub-Kingdom when the battle with the Koopa Kingdom heated up over the Power Stars. So, this group of Clubbas, being used as Mushroom servants around Gusty Gulch, around eight hundred, including me, waited until the inevitable Koopa Kingdom attack on this territory before making our move. We didn't expect ''you ''to be here, though." Tubba listened intently to Clubbar's story, his heart racing and his excitement rising with every word. Finally, here was someone else who was willing to admit that the Clubba Kingdom should fight on their own, and not become a sub-Kingdom of another Kingdom. "Great!" Tubba exclaimed, unable to keep the elation out of his voice. "Let's just clear this castle of the Mushroom-Beans, get the Koopa airships out of here, and make our way south for some extra land to ''really ''warn the Mushroom Kingdom and Koopa Kingdom off!" "One step ahead of you, Tubba." Clubbar crossed his arms as the last of the prisoners filtered out of the basement. "We've already cleared the Castle of the Mushroom-Beans. There were only about two hundred to three hundred here, anyway. We outnumber them two to one. I'm getting a few hundred Clubbas to stay behind and barricade the Castle, but the rest of us can finish off the plan." "Great!" Tubba exclaimed again, his voice louder. There was no way they could lose this war. Things were finally looking up for the Clubba Kingdom. "Let's move, everyone! We have a Kingdom to reclaim!" With those words, Tubba set off up the stairs, his head spinning with excitement, Karubba's club over his shoulder, and a growing happiness that could not be contained with his massive smile. The dungeons that had been so packed full with Clubbas were now empty, the Clubbas in need of medical attention receiving it in the Medical Wing. The Clubbas were rising, and were roaring once again in the Mushroom World. The Mushroom-Beans had been shown the door. Now they just had to do the same to the Koopa Kingdom.